It would appear that in spite of Craig Emerson's Chicken dance mocking Abbott's claim that Whyalla would be wiped off the map, it now looks like green energy will do just that.

In South Australia wholesale electricity prices in that state reached more than 30 times the prices recorded in the eastern states last week. At one point, the maximum price in the state hit $1400/MWh.

Unsurprisingly, several companies operating in South Australia, including BHP Billiton and beleaguered steelmaker Arrium, warned state Treasurer and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis that they might temporarily close their plants because of the high and erratic electricity prices. Electricity contracts for delivery next year and in 2018 are priced at between $90/MWh and $100/MWh in South Australia, compared with between $50/MWh and $63/MWh in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

Let us not forget that South Australia continues to boast about its status as the wind power capital of the country and having the highest proportion of its electricity generated by renewable sources. Since 2003, the contribution of wind to South Australian electricity generation has grown to more than one-quarter of the total.

The short answer is, contrary to Roy and HG’s famous prognostication that too much is never enough, too much is too much when it comes to intermittent and unreliable renewable energy. South Australia is paying a heavy price for its misguided energy policy, potentially leading to the further deindustrialisation of the state while also reducing its citizens’ living standards. But the real tragedy is that this outcome was entirely foreseeable.

South Australia’s Treasurer and Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis was last week forced to plead for a temporary power supply from the private owner of a mothballed gas-fired power plant at Port Augusta, after several major companies, including BHP Billiton and Arrium, warned him of possible shutdowns because of high energy prices.

Yet the Labor government still slavishly adheres to its Climate Change strategy that got it into this state.

Let's slash emissions, switch to renewable energy , grow the economy and create jobs.

How pathetic this nations leaders have become. Blind Freddie can see where we are headed.

the sad part is that many of the watermelons sit in offices whose heating/cooling is paid for by the tax payer. They could not give a stuff about the pensioners trying to stay warm or cool.

The problem isn't that the politicians are committed to the green dream; it's that they're not!

The green dream involved replacing the coal fired power station at Port Augusta with a solar thermal one. But that was dealt a blow by Tony Abbott's idiotic decision to demand the CEFC make a commercial return on its investment. Since then the politicians have paid lip service to the plan to build it, but have failed to ensure anything actually gets done.

Meanwhile the coal mine was depleted and the power station was old, highly polluting and uneconomic to run. They eventually closed it without a replacement, with predictable results.

Aiden perhaps you can advise where one of these big solar thermal plants is actually operating? The one at Bridgewater went broke and Where are the Mildura or Broken Hill ones? The fact is that seed money is burned up and then the "Managers" resign and hand over to a liquidator. No one would deal with them unless there are Government guarantees available.
Lots of stainless steel, galvanised frames and mirrors but they just do not work!

Abbott cutting the feed in tarif to 8c /KWH killed it and many others.